Paper is widely used in sanitary applications like toilet paper, paper towels, diapers, sanitary napkins and the likes. In most of such applications, virgin or partly recycled plain paper is used. As the sanitary paper is intended for single-use, a huge amount of paper is wasted after such uses. Moreover, most of the papers used for sanitary purpose, is not suitable for recycling. All these lead to the need for providing a less costly and less hazardous sanitary paper, keeping a consideration on the environmental protection because paper is made from wood pulp, in a very energy intensive process.
In some cases, alternative reusable material like fabric is used in sanitary conditions such as aprons and sheets in clinics. These aprons and sheets have to be sent for sterilization and washing even after momentary single use for example in outpatient departments and x-ray clinics, making them sometimes prohibitively costly. Still the sanitation level achieved may not be very high due to multiple uses.
On the other hand, a huge quantity of waste newsprint is available as pre-consumer surplus such as Over-issue News and post consumer read newspapers, everyday. The printed newsprint in the form of newspaper has many advantages like large size, huge everyday availability as read or surplus etc. But the toxicity of ink prohibits its sanitary application, as it may create skin irritation due to prolonged contact. Moreover, an untreated newsprint may not be acceptable from other hygienic as well as aesthetic point of views. None of the invented prior art teaches how to reuse printed newsprint in the above application, without the energy intensive costly techniques of re-pulping and remaking. Newsprint recycling techniques in which the printed-paper is pulped attain and used as a raw material for papermaking are widely known and practiced. These are highly energy intensive recycling methods that fail to teach how to process newsprint to be applicable for sanitary use without re-pulping.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,426 teaches the use of newspaper with a transparent plastic coating to reduce skin attack and cancer risk from the exposure of toxic printing ink such as plastic coating being applied while the ink is wet during printing of newspaper.
A huge amount of other waste paper like light weight coated (LWC) paper is also available in both the stages of pre-consumer and post-consumer use.